The Strategic Planning team at North Ayrshire Council are continuing with the preparation of a new local development plan for the area. The first stage in this process is an Evidence Report. As set out in <a href="https://northayrshireldp.commonplace.is/en-GB/news/update-on-local-development-plan-3-preparation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our last update</a> in November and the <a href="https://northayrshireldp.commonplace.is/en-GB/news/update-on-local-development-plan-3-preparation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Development Plan Scheme</a>, we are aiming to submit the Evidence Report to the Scottish Government at the beginning of 2025.&nbsp;The Planning and Architecture division of the Scottish Government have recently published a useful blog post on what private sector stakeholders can do to support the Evidence Report stage of plan-making. &nbsp;It covers the purpose of Evidence Reports; the involvement private sector stakeholders such as landowners and developers can expect; the role of the Gate Check in assessing the sufficiency of the evidence and dealing with disagreements and site promotion in the new development planning system.&nbsp;The full blog can be read <a href="https://blogs.gov.scot/planning-architecture/2024/04/24/the-private-sector-and-ldp-evidence-reports/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on the Scottish Government website</a><a href="https://blogs.gov.scot/planning-architecture/2024/04/24/the-private-sector-and-ldp-evidence-reports/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>.&nbsp;Early and proactive engagement between the planning authority and all stakeholders is expected as part of the process of preparing the Evidence Report and there is a statutory requirement to engage with the &#39;public at large&#39;.&nbsp;Regardless of your interest in the planning system or North Ayrshire, if you have any queries regarding the Local Development Plan and how you can become involved, please do not hesitate to <a href="https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-standards/ldp/development-plan-next-steps.aspx" id="isPasted">get in touch with the Strategic Planning Team</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

LDP Evidence Reports and the Private Sector

We have published an update on the preparation of North Ayrshire&#39;s third Local Development Plan, LDP3. <a href="https://north-ayrshire.cmis.uk.com/north-ayrshire/CommitteesMeetings/MeetingsCalendar/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/3678/Committee/147/Default.aspx">On Wednesday 23th November, the North Ayrshire&#39;s Planning Committee adopted the 2023 &#39;Development Plan Scheme&#39;</a>. The Development Plan Scheme is updated every year and sets out our timetable for the preparation of LDP3; details of what is involved at each stage; and a Participation Statement outlining when consultation is likely to take place, how and with whom. The new <a href="https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/Documents/CorporateServices/LegalProtective/LocalDevelopmentPlan/dps.pdf"><a href="https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/Documents/CorporateServices/LegalProtective/LocalDevelopmentPlan/dps.pdf">Development Plan Scheme</a> can be viewed online at our website</a>. In March this year, we launched the <a href="https://northayrshireldp.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/your-place-survey/step1">&#39;Your Place&#39; survey</a>, based on the Place Standard. This survey will stay open until March 2024. If you haven&#39;t already, we would encourage you could complete the survey and share it with others so as many as people as possible can feed into the process and tell us about the places in North Ayrshire they live, work and visit. During 2024 our focus will be on the preparation of the Evidence Report. To support the preparation of the Evidence Report, we will draft and publish Place Profiles for each locality in North Ayrshire. These will set out key baseline information and data, summarise early engagement to date and reflect on the outcomes of other recent and current community engagement initiatives. There will be an opportunity for you to review these. If you have any queries regarding the Local Development Plan, or any other aspect of planning in North Ayrshire, please do not hesitate to <a href="https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-standards/ldp/development-plan-next-steps.aspx">get in touch with the Strategic Planning Team</a>. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1701447658/projects/northayrshireldp/48adc6cf-a20f-4ad0-96f1-f8ecbe41e377.jpg" />

Update on Local Development Plan 3 Preparation

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1681743593/projects/northayrshireldp/dd2bb83a-fbfd-4494-ad51-421a0cdd979f.jpg" /> Effective community engagement is an essential part of local development plan preparation. The Scottish Government have published drafted guidance on how planning authorities can comply with their legal duties to engage with the public when preparing their local development plans. National Planning Framework 4 defines a community as &#39;A body of people&#39;. This can be based on common factors: <li>location (for example people who live or work in or use an area);</li><li>identity (for example a shared ethnicity, language, or age); and</li><li>interest (for example the business community, amenity, sports, social or heritage groups)</li> The guidance is intended to be used by planning authorities as a sense check when planning their engagement to support the preparation of local development plans. It will also be helpful to communities, organisations and individuals in understanding when they can engage in the local development plan process, and what influence on the plan making that engagement may have. This drafted guidance is part of the ongoing planning reform within Scotland which aims to enhance engagement within the planning system. Communities are encouraged to <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/effective-community-engagement-local-development-planning-guidance-consultation/documents/">read the draft guidance</a> and <a href="https://consult.gov.scot/planning-architecture/effective-community-engagement-ldp/">respond to the consultation</a> which runs until the 13th September 2023.

Communities Encouraged to Participate in Scottish Government Consultation 

Our third Local Development Plan (known as LDP3) will guide future development across North Ayrshire for ten years following adoption. We need your input to create a locally informed plan that is fit for the future. 